I apologizing for being off topic but I have a couple questions after seeing Compass this evening. Carl Dean McWilliams was wearing an orange jumpsuit for his court appearance. I assume to aid in finding him in case he breaks free from his guards. However, Mr. Williams had a Northumberland Ferries logo on his jumpsuit. Has anyone else seen the orange jumpsuit used on PEI before? Is Mr. Williams more dangerous than our home grown wackos? The cynic in me wonders if “wardrobe” was called in to give the scene a little more production value. After all, it will be on Unsolved Mysteries.

The orange, ordinarily, is actually used to differentiate “at-risk” offenders from the general population, as opposed to an escape deterrent. You can rest assured the colourful J-suit would be quickly shorn by any respectable escapee. The risk under consideration, therefore, is not to the public but to the prisoner, as those accused of sex crimes against children are at the bottom of the prison food chain. That being said, I think the “wardrobe” comment is bang on nonetheless, as his celebrity in this small pond is as effective as any garish colours to keeping him away from his brethren.

Nice pictures. I wonder if anyone is at the other end of the ATC camera. “High security man” at the front desk leaves a very canny — back in 5 minutes sign for most of the day. Despite Wayne’s love of being watched, the new image understanding cameras which can cross reference you without consent are scary. Find an intranet copy of “At Face Value: on biometrical identification and privacy” by the Dutch Privacy Commission if you want to get an idea of the propensity for system failures with these things. Unfortunately, it appears only the folks in Quebec have a constitutional protection against such violations of privacy — their Charter includes it, Canada’s does not.

To KevinD: I shot that video that you saw on Compass, and I, too was a little confused about the Ferries logo. I have never seen “NFL” prominently displayed on any prisoner. And as this is possibly the first time it’s been “caught on tape”, I’m afraid that Correctional Services will lose their free-jumpsuit-service they obviously currently receive from NFL. Or, perhaps the jumpsuit is foreshadowing, and it represents the method of Carl’s extradition.

Whereas you place your faith in the “Guardian quality” edited legislation of PEI? Check out the e-commerce statute which makes every contract via the web a practical nullity, the spelling mistakes and — my favorite — the likely failure to enact an omnibus bill in the 1840’s [because there was no democracy here unlike the rest of the empire] to wipe out the still existing discriminatory statutes against catholics, gypsies, and any other non-poor, non-male, non-white non-protestant group. When this was pointed out the reply was “shit, stay quiet about that…”

Ken — I was not particularly talking about democracy as ineptutide in statutes can happen in any system…but you are still right. Minister Lunk’s recent announcements in themselves could be seen as “a gross misrepresentation of the voters mandate”.

BATHURST, N.B. — Demonstrators will be in at the entrance to the Smurfit Stone Paper Mill in Bathurst beginning at 3 p.m.tomorrow, Thursday, March 6, to protest the employer’s use of video cameras in the workplace.

“Cameras are directly on employees as they work throughout the day or night,” says Max Michaud, Atlantic Vice-President of theCommunications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. “It’s a total invasion of privacy. This type of on-the-jobmonitoring violates workers’ basic human rights and promotes sweatshop working conditions.

“Knowing their every move is being recorded, has increased our members’ stress level significantly,” he adds. “We will doeverything possible to stop this.”

An arbitration hearing will be held next week on this issue. A grievance was filed last month. The union and the company hadreached an agreement on what cameras were needed for security and fire watch reasons, “but the company has not lived up to itsword,” says Michaud.

Jeese, Bob — follow a 15 comment discussion and you will see…[this goes also to your other thread, Peter, about the problems with discussion on PEI — folks want linear school-marmish led thought].

Cameraguy, those comments are very close to what Canada’s privacy commissioner wrote about a Vancouver police attempt to put cameras in a open air mall area of downtown. People retract from their full experience of anonymous life when they know they are being watched. They become less free.

Nonsense-unless they have something to hide…In the immortal words of Don Henley, Get Over It, and I think people usually do forget the cameras, after awhile.(Even the crooks)

Where is anonymous life guaranteed in our society? Or an integral part of a true definition of freedom? Or something worth experiencing? Certainly not a part of Island life, which I think, urks many from away.

Anonymity is an aspect of society which is contained in and being developed through new cases on the idea of liberty section 7 of the Charter and which, practically speaking, has been understood in things like the right to silence, freedom from wiretapping and freedom from search and seizure.

Whether it is part of your idea of an alleged “Island Way of Life” {aka “I do what I like, go to hell youse”) is entirely irrelevant for which we have the good minds of our national lawmakers to thank. Could you imagine how vicious and oppressive life would be here if the local political classes were not restrained by things like constitutional protection of personal liberty with PEI’s continuing legacy of colonial rule and tepid grasp of basic democratic principles.

Unless they have something to hide!I have lots to hide, that’s why I where clothes, Wayne do you walk around naked — please God no.As cameras become cheaper they are becoming insidious and I wish there were some regulations on their use. Something like:1) permit required to mount a camera in public2) mandatory recording and submission of tapes to the public library where they could be borrowed by anyone after 7 days (it is all public information)3) Highly visible big orange stickers marking every location.4) No concealed cameras unless with a court warrant.

Alan, is there any framework for regulating cameras now?

Also, as a defence, people should start wearing masks when they are out and about town, George Bush masks preferably.

Ken, without the wish to be accused of thesis thumping (ie please disagree), I wrote my masters dissertation on the legal framework around automated biometric cameras and image understanding.

From the perspective of between private entities (a human and a corporation, a human and a human), there are low level cases on watching others with cameras which find a way to find the person watching in the wrong. There is the criminal charge of harassment. There is between people and the state the Charter which does not include privacy so is as yet undeveloped. There is the privacy legislation but that requires the information to be in the medium of stored data. Certainly the provincial act is weak but thankfully the federal law will come into force in a yet or two on private matters. The human visual presentation would have to be shown (which it should be) as a form of data and database medium. The federal Privacy Commissioner certainly thinks it should be. No single nice statute unfortunately.

What is really scary is not the cameras but the data mining behind them.

I object to your defination of my Island way of life, your honour.(Or is that honor?)

Tepid…is that like…”not a scintilla”?

Right on…I agree that the problem is not the camera, but could be the data mining…but that should not stop us from utilizing this resource. If it takes more or better legislation/interpretation, the quicker the better. This is a great way to ensure accountability in our society where everybody has somebody/something else to blame for their poor judgements. But, one of those cameras might be able to help me with my backswing!There are lots of places where things such as personal medical records, etc are stored and protected. Your Thesis topic sounds much more interesting then many I have encountered.

But your backswing and your medical records are private matters that do not involve the state.

BTW, I have no obkjection to “Your Island Way of Life” as a valid concept, just “The Ilsnad Way of Life” which is a bullying empty “trump” card played by those with no cards left to play. Samuel Johnson called it “the last recourse of s scoundrel.”

…then I would suggest that you do not encourage such card-playing by attempting to bully those who live here-and Islanders-with comments such as “problems with discussion on PEI”.I call it fightin’ dirty.

I always wanted to hear I was “the MAN” on the first tee, but have learned to live with my disappointment.

There is a problem with discussion on PEI which is not fightin’ dirty. Regardless of anything I have ever written here, folks don’t talk. Of anything I have come across here, that is as much a part of “the Island Way of Life”, though most believers in that term ascribe nothing but sunny positives to it.

As much as I talk, she still says “We don’t talk!” Most men hear this,I am willing to bet, and most are are puzzled. “Folks don’t talk”?? They might not agree, they might focus on local matters, and lack an interest in much which appeals to the coffee-snobs of Upper Canada, but they talk. We have our bombers, murderers, crooks. In fact, most Islanders know one or two. Just this morning, I heard lots of talk about the state of our Island roads on radio.